Four crew members have been abducted from two vessels attacked by pirates off Equatorial Guinea on the same day.
And a Cosco VLCC was also pursued by a speedboat off Cameroon as the threat from these groups shows no sign of abating.
The Russia embassy in Equatorial Guinea said on Facebook that pirates had not yet made ransom demands for two of its citizens kidnapped from the 1,600-dwt research ship Djibloho (built 1989) on 9 May.
The vessel, owned by the government, was at anchorage in Luba when the attack occurred.
And a Russian and a Ukrainian were reported seized from the 8,600-dwt cargoship Rio Mitong (built 1993), 2 nautical miles (3.7km) from Malabo.
Same group?
Security consultancy Dryad Global said the vessel was approached by a single speedboat with an unknown number of persons onboard.
Ladders were used to board the ship. It is managed by ITS International Trades of Belgium, which could not be contacted.
Dryad said it was not yet clear which incident occurred first or whether they were conducted by the same group.
If confirmed, the incidents would bring the total number of crew members being held after kidnapping in the region to 52.
"Across the last 48 hours there has been an increase in reporting concerning activity involving vessels reported to have acted in a suspicious manner," Dryad said.
"Whilst the trend of incidents within West Africa is showing a gradual decline, there is an upward trend in severity of incidents, notably those involving kidnap for ransom. Vessels operating in this region must maintain the highest levels of vigilance."
VLCC pursued
Dryad also said the 308,000-dwt Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation VLCC Yuan Qiu Hu (built 2015) reported a pursuit by a speedboat 22 nautical miles off South Bakassi, Cameroon, on the same day.
The ship is understood to have increased speed while awaiting support from Cameroonian Brigade d’Intervention Rapide forces.
A patrol boat made it to the scene 45 minutes later and the speedboat left.
This is the fourth incident in the waters off Cameroon within 2020, with the last recorded on 20 March, when a vessel was fired on.
In another report, a speedboat was sighted circling an offshore platform in waters off Mayumba, Gabon.
